Earthquakes in London is a play written by Mike Bartlett which is based around global warming. The story follows a woman called Freya who is in conflict to whether she should keep her child or have an abortion like her father says to save her from contributing to over population or a damaged world. When Freya's mother dies her and her two sisters (Sarah and Jasmine) leave their father to live their own different and separate lives. The story exposes themes like global warming, abortions, over population, death, suicide, regret plus the difference between reality and fantasy.
To get my own interpretation of the play we had to draw an image the reflects the play. I decided to draw a baby with a blind fold on which was inside the mother's tummy. I did this to show how we are ignorant to the things around or the bigger picture and therefore we feel that we are not affected by these things. Around the tummy their was the destruction of fires, alcohol, trees and planes because it sort of showed how the world is being destroyed by thing we do everyday. There was also cracks inside and outside the tummy to symbolise the destruction caused by the earthquakes. I decided to name the image 'we are blind' mainly because it shows the ignorance that we have to global warming and to show how we would rather turn a blind eye to the subject then facing it head on.
Characters:
In this play their are many different character types that are represented through one or more characters.
1. Protagonist - the protagonist is the main character whose story we follow. I feel that Freya would be the protagonist as all of the characters go to her instead of her finding the new characters and she is the one who has the decision whether or not to keep the child. However there are other characters who could possibly be the protagonist like Robert as he has to decide whether or not to stay with his family after his wife dies and his decision effects the rest of the lives of his daughters.
2. Antagonist - the antagonist is the person who causes conflict for the protagonist. I feel that Robert would be the antagonist as he is the one who tells Freya to get rid of her child and therefore causes her conflict in her decision making. There is also a minor antagonist to Jasmine as Sarah is her polar opposite and she confronts everything that Jasmine does. However I feel that Robert would be the main antagonist as he effects the storyline the most.
3. Foils - the foil is the characters that contrast to the main character. I feel that this would probably would be Jasmine and Sarah as each individual sister has separate character trades from the other. However you could also say that Steve is Roberts foil as he completely disagrees with everything that Robert says as he believes that Freya should keep the child. My character Mrs Andrews could also be seen as a foil to Robert as she seems to be a loving caring person compared to Robert who is very reserved and cold.
4: Confidante - the Confidante is some one who forces the protagonist to open up to. I feel that Peter would be Freya's Confidante as she truly expresses her true emotions about not wanting the child to him. However you could say that Steve would also be the Confidante to both Freya and Robert as she opens up to him about her fear of being left alone and Robert shows his true feelings about being a father to Steve.
5: Raisonneur - the Raisonneur is the character which expresses the voice of the author. I feel that this character would be Tom as he is the only considers the effect global warming is having on the people and he has a large passionate rant about the effects of the planes.
6: norm character - the morn character is someone who is completely normal and are relatable to the audience. I feel that this character would be Steve as he is only looking for answers and he is trying to save his family. I think this is why he is my favourite character as he (to me) feels like the only true character who tries to hold everything together.
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